TGIF: ‘Secret Millionaire’ Chahal Not Too Busy To Count ‘Gs’

Gurbaksh “G” Chahal, our favorite high school dropout and the author of “The Dream: How I Learned the Risks and Rewards of Entrepreneurship and Made Millions” (Palgrave MacMillan, 236 pages, $24.95), appears to be the latest victim of negligent editing by reality television show producers.

If you aren’t one of the 8 million people watching “Secret Millionaire,” here’s a quick sketch of the premise, courtesy of Fox:

“Secret Millionaire” is a dramatic new unscripted series that takes America’s wealthiest individuals away from their lavish lifestyles, sprawling mansions and private planes and places them undercover into some of the most impoverished neighborhoods in America.

Challenged with living on minimum wage, the millionaires will immerse themselves in situations beyond their comprehension. They work with with community members and befriend those in need. Then they decide who of their new-found friends, neighbors or co-workers should ultimately receive their extraordinary gifts, at least $100,000 of their own money.

After watching G’s episode of “Secret Millionaire” last week, Adam McDowell, a reporter at The National Post, noted that G was shown handing over just $90,000.

“So what gives?” McDowell wrote. “All right, we realize they probably filmed a [check] giveaway scene that got edited out — maybe one of the abuse survivors got some money but didn’t want anyone to know, which is actually a good idea. But still, Fox Television. Please explain. We might not all be millionaires, but we can bloody well add.”

After watching my episode of “Secret Millionaire,” I learned that reality-TV is all about post production. Even though the emotions and stories are all real — editing makes everything come to life. Nevertheless, here are some missing parts that never made the episode:

The obvious shock, the show advertises that a millionaire will donate at least $100,000 of their money. I ended up gifting well over $100,000 — but the way editing was done — it made it seem I only gifted $90,000.

Due to privacy issues (which I completely understand), one of the additional recipients that I gifted was completely edited out.

St. Anthony’s is also a place where a lot of people go when they are trying to get their lives back on track. Even getting a job these days is all about getting on the Internet. So, I donated a new computer lab to St. Anthony’s.

I was deeply touched by the kids that lived at Raphael House. So, I started a “birthday fund” so at the very least, they get a birthday gift on their special day.

In the final part of the show — the millionaires go back into the community to follow up on the recipients that they gifted. That also did not make the final cut.

G added that his heart was in the right place when he did the show. “I’m proud of what I was able to do and blessed that God gave me the opportunity to start giving back at a young age,” he wrote. “I’ve also continued to support St. Anthony’s and Raphael House throughout this year.” So, “controversy” over, right? Not so fast.

Roger Catlin, of The Hartford Courant, noticed that “more than a few checks had the date 4/31/08 — which not only predated the election and the Wall Street Meltdown, but indicated a date that doesn’t occur in real life. April only has 30 days.”

Catlin received the following response from Fox: “The checks featured on the show may not reflect the actual method of payment; however, all recipients have been paid the sums of money mentioned by the millionaires in the show.”